Compost Cookies

I'm going to be in a wedding! A bridesmaid to be precise! I don't know much about weddings. The last wedding and reception I attended was when I was like 5. We are lucky I remember that (I don't remember my childhood, much less what I did 3 days ago). Now I am in the wedding! We call it a wedding, but really its a statement of vows, or both. There never was a wedding or exchange of vows, whoops. So it is pretty much a wedding, I guess. How could this be, you ask?!

Did you know in Colorado you can have someone stand in for the other half? That is what my brother and now sister-in-law did. The best part was, the stand in for my sister-in-law was a dude. To be precise my parents best man. How cute?

It is probably important to know why they did this. She was at boot camp. He had already finished and was an officer, in the military. It isn't the best to sleep with your boss, ya know? Especially in the military. They just failed to think of this before she was confined to boot camp. Now the wedding is in February. They aren't much for the planning ahead. Excited none the less. Do you know anyone who has gotten married in this way? Or any good wedding laughs? I'd love to hear them!

Believe it or not, the above story is slightly related to these cookies. I'm mailing them to my sister-in-law, in Texas. Another twist to their little love story: they've spent a lot of time apart. BUT she comes home in 2 1/2 weeks, for good!

These cookies are from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. This is a pretty great book. A lot of it is pretty involved  but oh so very interesting. Beet-lime white chocolate ganache? Intrigued. Plus I don't live in New York. AKA New York is being brought to me instead.

I've been wanting to make these for a while and a friend recently was nagging me for the recipe. Perfect reason to make them. Plus, I have been all about the sweet, salty and unexpected. Chips and pretzels in your cookie? YUM!

These come out as giant sized cookies. In case you like 'em smaller, take note of that.  You only use 1/4 of the graham crust, but I took their suggestion and froze it for later use. I plan to make these for the holidays anyways. Screw traditional cookies, someone else will make them. Another great tip, freeze them for later. The finished product is rich and sweet, with whole pretzel crunch surprises.

Ingredients:

Graham Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup milk powder

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1/4 cup heavy cream

Cookie batter:

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup graham crust

1/3 cup old fashioned oats

2 teaspoons ground coffee

50g (2 cups) chips

50g mini (1 cup) pretzels

Instructions:

1. Combine the butter, sugars, and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7-8 minutes, until pale and fluffy (almost doubled).
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute (you don't want to over mix the batter!).
3. Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crust, oats, and coffee and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels and paddle, still on low speed, until just incorporated. Don't overmix or risk breaking too many of the pretzels or potato chips!
4. Using a 2 3/4-ounce ice cream scoop (or a 1/3-cup measuring cup), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature--they will not bake properly (did you see all that butter you put in there!?). 
5. Heat the oven to 375F.
6. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pans (these cookies do spread like crazy, give 'em space. I put 5 per pan). Bake for 18 minutes (I'd check them at about 16 minutes, depending on your oven). The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center. Give them an extra minute or so if that's not the case.
7. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.

Recipe by Momofuku Milk Bar